Thousands cheer India’s Modi at London mega-rally

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron stand on stage during an event at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rock-star welcome Friday at Britain’s biggest stadium, packed with some 60,000 people noisily celebrating British-Indian ties and India’s growing international clout.

Members of Britain’s large Indian diaspora waved India’s tricolor flag, wore Modi masks and chanted Modi’s name between blasts of Indian pop music that had the crowd dancing in the aisles of Wembley Stadium

Slick videos highlighted India’s economic prowess, in a muscular production underscoring the country’s shift from British colonial possession to a global power courted for its vast markets, deep-pocketed investors and strategic importance.

“We are here to experience the aura of Modi, it is the aura of truth and development. There is no comparison for him in this era,” said audience member Mahdu Kabra, 32. “He increases our proudness to be Indian.”

The event also underscored Modi’s shift from political pariah to — according to his many supporters — India’s savior, after he swept to office last year promising economic reform and less bureaucracy.

Only a few years earlier, Britain and several other countries had shunned Modi due to accusations he turned a blind eye while he was chief minister of Gujarat to 2002 communal violence in which hundreds were killed.

“All great leaders had protests, look at Churchill. This is a trivial and fragile way to bring him down. It’s a political vendetta,” Kabra said.

Wembley Modified

More accustomed to football matches than political rallies, the iconic British stadium had been thoroughly Indianized for Modi’s visit.

Burger vans had been replaced by kiosks selling chicken tikka and samosas.

Inside, the hallowed turf had been covered with two giant lotus leaf designs, one in Union Jack colors, another in the white, green and saffron of the Indian tricolor.

The Indian flag had also been recreated by covering seats with plastic of the same colors near one goalmouth, where a stage had been set up for the event.